I live in Australia. We all have to vote here. It’s us and Belgium I think, where everybody has to show up on voting day or get in trouble.
I think it works great, but I don’t think we should rest on our laurels. I want to take it a step further. Annual Protest day. A day where everybody must, by law, show up to a designated protesting place and protest something.

Idea for a novel :

Aliens come to earth. They tell us that there are only 37 planets in our galaxy with life on them. 13 have sentient life. 4 have space travel and advanced technologies. Those four have made an agreement that none of these last remaining 37 precious planets can be destroyed, and they will do anything they can to keep all those planets safe.

So, finding our planet on the brink of mass extinction, they have come to save us. In one year they are going to turn off all the machines and technologies which are tipping the ecological balance. Individual species they’re not concerned about, so we can keep hunting whales and killing each other. But they won’t let us bring down the whole ecosystem.

The people whose wealth and comfort relies on coal and oil start a war against the aliens. It’s just like the tripods trilogy, except they are trying to help us.

I’m not sure how the story ends, but it’s possible that in the end, the only thing they can do to save the planet is kill all the humans and let the other species evolve as they will.

can’t you see it
can’t you feel it
it’s all in the air
i can’t stand the pressure much longer
somebody say a prayeralabama’s got me so upset
tennessee made me lose my rest
everybody knows about mississippi goddamn

lord have mercy on this land of mine
we all going to get it in due time
i don’t belong here
i dont belong there
i’ve even stopped believing in prayer

don’t tell me i’ll tell you
me and my people just about do
i’ve been there so i know
they keep on saying “go slow”

well that’s just the trouble
“go slow”
washing the windows
“go slow”
picking the cotton
“go slow”
you’re just plain rotton
“go slow”
you do things gradually
bring more tragedy
why can’t you see it
why dont you feel it
i don’t know
i don’t know

just try to do my very best
stand up be counted with all the rest
cos everybody knows about mississippi goddamn

picket lines
schoolboy cots
they try to say it’s a communist plot
but all i want is equality
for my sisters my brothers my people and me

you lied to me all these years
you told me to wash and clean my ears
and talk real fine just like a lady
and you’d stop calling me sister sadie

but my country is full of lies
we all going to die and die like flies
cos i don’t trust you any more
they keep on saying
“go slow”

well that’s just the trouble
“go slow”
desegregation
“go slow”
mass participation
“go slow”
unification
“go slow”
do things gradually
“go slow”
will bring more tragedy
why don’t you see it
why don’t you feel it
i don’t know
i don’t know

lord have mercy on this land of mine
we all going to get it in due time
i don’t belong here
i dont belong there
i’ve even stopped believing in prayer

don’t tell me i’ll tell you
me and my people just about do
i’ve been there so i know
they keep on saying “go slow”

well that’s just the trouble
“non core”
no new taxes
“non core”
fair work choices
“non core”
you’re just plain rotton
“non core”
you do things gradually
bring more tragedy
why can’t you see it
why dont you feel it
i don’t know
i don’t know

just try to do my very best
stand up be counted with all the rest
cos everybody knows about john howard goddamn

picket lines
schoolboy cots

they try to say it’s a terrorist plot
but all i want is equality
for indigenous people, refugees and me

you lied to me all these years
you told me to wash and clean my ears
and talk real fine just like a lady
and you’d stop calling me sister sadie

but my country is full of lies

we all going to die and die like flies

cos i don’t trust you any more

they keep on saying
“go slow”

well that’s just the trouble
“go slow”
desegregation
“go slow”
mass participation
“go slow”
assimilation
“go slow”
do things gradually
“go slow”
will bring more tragedy
why don’t you see it
why don’t you feel it
i don’t know
i don’t know

i don’t want you on my TV
just give me my equality
cos everybody knows about the wheat board
everybody knows about children overboard
everybody knows about the iraq war
everybody knows about kyoto
everybody knows about land rights
everybody knows about saying sorry
everybody knows about john howard
GODDAM GODDAM

DEED OF SETTLEMENT

BETWEEN

The conglomeration of churches of the mainstream variety of several and various locations in the State of Certainty (“The Church”)

AND

The communities of alternative worship, small fire, new worship, cafe style church, fringe, edge, and fresh worship, liquid church of several and various locations in the State of Confusion (hereafter collectively referred to as “The Emerging Church”)

BACKGROUND

The Church stands possessed of a large number of assets including, but not limited to, spiritual gifts, (cults of) personalities, real property, intellectual property and incorporeal property.

The Emerging Church are experimental fringe communities formed as a result of or in opposition to the Church.

The Emerging Church as a direct descendant of the Church and in consideration of the generally very hard time through which they are put by the Church from time to time, asserts a right of inheritance over the estate of The Church.

The Church and the Emerging Church have been in dispute as to the distribution of assets between the Church and the Emerging Church.

The Church and the Emerging Church have reached agreement as to the distribution of the assets of the Church as composed from time to time and wheresoever situate and desire to reduce that agreement to writing.

AND THE PARTIES AGREE AS FOLLOWS

The Church shall grant the Emerging Church control over all the assets, properties (both real and corporeal), finances, and traditions wheresover situate, including (but not limited to) the right to sell your buildings, monuments and organs and to spend the money on technology and any other thing appropriately adaptable to the uses of the Emerging Church (“Toys”).

The Church will retain title of said assets as trustees and on trust for the Emerging Church.

The Church shall not act in any way to prejudice the assets of the Emerging Church.

The Church shall retain its position as arbiter of morality and values but only for those within the Church. Nothing in relation to morality or values shall be binding on the Emerging Church.

The Church will respect the position of the Emerging Church as experimental fringe communities until such time as you abdicate.

As the last of your incumbent office holders is deceased, we will assume power of attorney over your aformentioned assets.

From that time, We will be known to all and in all correspondence as “the church”

We will inhabit the structures, both real and political, which you have left.

EXECUTION

Signed, Sealed and Delivered by the said #

in accordance with #

In the presence of _____________________(Signature of Witness) _____________________. _____________________ (Name of Witness) ___________________